Podcast Summary: Chasing Life

Episode: Do Imported Organic Foods Live Up to Their Labels?

Host: Dr. Sanjay Gupta (CNN Podcasts)
Date: November 4, 2025

Overview

In this episode of Chasing Life, Dr. Sanjay Gupta dives into the complexities surrounding organic food labels, especially those on imported products. Responding to listener questions, Dr. Gupta explains how organic standards are enforced in the U.S. and abroad, the challenges with international certification, and the practical realities consumers face. Special guest Dr. Peter Laufer, professor and investigative journalist, contributes nuanced insights on the trustworthiness of organic labels. A second segment addresses the science behind “grounding sheets,” marketed as health products.

Main Discussion: Are Imported Organic Foods Really Organic?

How Organic Certification Works in the U.S.

• Host Explanation [01:05]:
  • The USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) develops and enforces standards for organic crops, livestock, and agricultural products.
  • Dr. Sanjay Gupta:

    “Organic food is labeled that way because of the way that it is farmed, handled, and processed.” [01:33]

  • Standards for organic crops: Avoidance of synthetic substances for pest, weed, and soil management.
  • Standards for animal products: Must consume organic diets, have access to outdoor spaces, and may only receive approved supplements.
  • For processed foods: At least 95% of ingredients must be certified organic.

Monitoring of Imported Organics

• International Certification:
  • Foreign farms and producers must adopt USDA organic practices and be certified by USDA-accredited agents.
  • U.S. has equivalency agreements with some countries (Canada, EU, Japan) if their standards match up with U.S. requirements.
  • New since 2024: Every imported organic shipment must carry a special “import certificate”—a type of passport confirming the product’s organic status and traceability. [03:36]
• Oversight and Enforcement:
  • Periodic USDA audits and inspections. Heavy fines for fraud.
  • Dr. Sanjay Gupta:

    “The USDA doesn’t really just take people’s word for it. It does conduct audits and inspections from time to time. And anyone that falsely represents products as organic gets an expensive fine.” [04:33]

Imperfections and Limitations in the System

• Fraud can happen, domestically and internationally.
• Impossible to inspect every single product.
• Dr. Peter Laufer (Guest Expert):

  “Every single piece of broccoli can't be looked at.” [04:53]

• Laufer emphasizes the importance of skepticism, especially with complex supply chains.
• Example: A honey label with multiple origins (USA, Ukraine, India) makes it harder to verify authenticity.

  “That's another thing that's intriguing. If it's hard to find this information on the label, that doesn't necessarily mean that the retailer or the producer is trying to be devious. But that's a little weird. Wouldn't you be proud to say where your stuff's from?” [06:13]

Practical Consumer Guidance

• Trust but verify: True certainty is elusive unless you grow it yourself.
• Use “logic” and a “dose of skepticism combined with some pragmatism.”
• Dr. Sanjay Gupta:

  “It’s not a perfect system… There’s a lot of food there to be inspected.” [05:04]

• Dr. Peter Laufer:

  “Can you trust it?... If it's coming from multiple places far away, even if it’s labeled organic, that means it had to go through three inspection processes and perhaps something slipped in one of them or maybe something devious occurred… But it's a whole lot different than if your neighbor across the back fence has bees in her backyard and she says, do you want a jar of honey?” [05:17]

• Transparency and simplicity in supply chains increase trust.

Memorable Moment

• Dr. Laufer inspects his own jar of honey with a magnifying glass, remarking on the challenge of tracing its origins:

  “Let me put on the magnifying glass here. And yes, selected honey from the USA. Okay. We like the USA, right? Ukraine. Okay. And India. Are you ready to go to Ukraine and India and check out where the producer is?” [06:13]

Key Segment Timestamps

• [00:22] Caller Meg asks: “How do we know imported food is really organic?”
• [01:05] Dr. Gupta explains U.S. organic certification
• [03:36] The USDA's system for imported organic products, equivalency, and 2024 import certificates
• [04:33] Dr. Gupta on audits, inspections, and fines for fraud
• [04:53] Dr. Laufer: Why inspecting every product is impossible
• [05:17] Dr. Laufer’s advice for consumer skepticism and trust
• [06:13] Dr. Laufer’s honey label magnifying glass anecdote
• [07:22] Dr. Gupta: No perfect system, but safeguards do exist

Grounding Sheets: Health Claims and Science

What Are Grounding Sheets?

• Sheets woven with conductive material (carbon/silver), connected to the ground or power outlets to “conduct Earth’s energy.”
• Marketed claims: Help with insomnia, joint pain, inflammation, stress, and chronic illness.

What Does Science Say?

• Many studies are funded by manufacturers or have conflicts of interest.
• Independent, rigorous studies are limited.
• 2023 review: Most studies lack placebo control/blinding; results are inconclusive and confounded by variables like soil composition.
• Dr. Sanjay Gupta:

  “If you look this up, you’ll find that there are studies... but a lot of the studies... have a stake in selling these grounding products.”

• Safety generally assumed if standard care is followed (e.g., don’t use in thunderstorms).

Practical Advice

• No harmful effects, but benefits are unproven.
• Dr. Gupta recommends natural “grounding” by spending time barefoot outdoors, which may have personal or psychological benefits.

Memorable Quote

• Dr. Sanjay Gupta:

  “If you are curious, Cleo, I can't see anything wrong with practicing a bit of grounding. Maybe that’s what you’re going for. Getting outside, taking off your shoes and socks and sort of grounding yourself or earthing yourself like our ancestors did…” [12:22]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “Organic food is labeled that way because of the way that it is farmed, handled and processed.” – Dr. Sanjay Gupta [01:33]
• “Every single piece of broccoli can't be looked at.” – Dr. Peter Laufer [04:53]
• “If it's hard to find this information on the label, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the retailer or the producer is trying to be devious. But that's a little weird.” – Dr. Peter Laufer [06:13]
• “There is absolutely no way to know for certain whether something is organic unless you've grown it yourself.” – (Paraphrased) Dr. Peter Laufer as referenced by Dr. Gupta [07:13]
• “No perfect system, but there are safeguards in place to help ensure that organic food is in fact organic.” – Dr. Sanjay Gupta [07:22]

Conclusion

Takeaway:

• The USDA organic program works hard to maintain high standards, but imported certification carries inherent challenges. Consumers should use critical thinking, check for transparent labeling, and remember there are always some risks of fraud, at home and abroad. Personal connection (local producers) increases certainty, but most people can only “do the best we can with the information we are given.”
• On trendy wellness products like grounding sheets: science is lacking, claims are unproven, but if used safely, simple grounding practices outdoors are harmless and may be enjoyable.